![Avalon and Abby in the field](/sites/g/files/omnuum13181/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2026-10/FT9A0922.jpg?itok=rQZb0Y-W) 

 



 

#  Owens Laboratory featured in the FAS Current.  

 





September 14, 2026

 

 

Harvard researchers led by Rowland Fellow Avalon Owens [found that sprawling light pollution severely disrupts firefly mating behaviors](https://current.fas.harvard.edu/stories/what-sprawling-light-pollution-does-fireflies), causing males in illuminated areas to flash half as much and females to go nearly completely dark. Because fireflies rely on intricate nocturnal flash dialogues to reproduce, artificial night lighting directly threatens their populations by interfering with courtship and contributing to their broader ecological decline.



 

 

 



 

 

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